Really, anything good. Cakes, cookies, pastries, Italian, French, Middle Eastern...anything you would recommend as "special". Almost every bakery I've been to in Jersey, and it's not a lot of places I admit, has been average. Only great ones I've found are Marie Antoinettes in Ridgewood (which is now closed), and Randolphs in Very SW Jersey.

Well, for a really great crumb cake you must try B & W Bakery, 614 Main St, Hackensack, NJ, 201-342-5577

For a wonderful Pecan and Raisen Babka, along with a number of other great cakes try the Allwood Bakery, 70 Market St, Clifton, NJ, 973-473-1467

For fabulous cheesecakes go to Marc's Cheese Cake,53 Valley Rd, Clifton, NJ 07013,973-684-8511. It's a just a storefront shop with 30 homemade wonderful cheesecakes and now brownies that are unbelieveable.

I just found a website that has a number of reviews on bakeries it's linked below. Enjoy!!!!!

Made a trip down today specifically to check out the crumb cake at B&W Bakery. I'm not much of a crumb cake person but my best friend and my family are so I bought a slab. Wow, it is really, really good. Not the dry, crumbly type I've had in the past (and probably the reason I'm not a crumb cake person). I didn't buy anything else knowing we'd just gorge ourselves and you didn't mention whether most everything was above-average or just a few items. The rum cake slices looked particularly good...but, I live in the Hudson Valley and it's quite a trip for me; are they worth going back for?

B&W is indeed very, very good. Excellent crumb cakes, linzer tarts, etc. Very clean, too. Just returned to my roots (Bergen County) after 10 years and saw for myself the tragedy that was once the finest bakery in all of NJ - The Butterflake in Teaneck.

Hound "urthere" and I had a discussion several months ago and she tried to enlighten me about the Butterflake. That's why she now goes to DePerios I'm sure. I had to see for myself.

The Butterflake was obviously sold to some very religious Jews - the place is closed on Saturday - no baking after sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. I looked in the window and got sick to my stomach. Where were the huge coconut cream pies, the butter cookies, the rainbows, the almond horns, the seven layer cakes! Where, where where! So depressing.

And, the Royal Deli, once one of Bergen County's finest is also gone. My childhood rememberances are gone forever.

So, I got back in the car and headed for B&W for some wonderful baked goods - go there!! All is not lost.

I went to school in Teaneck and I remember Royal deli and the Butterflake, but also Gratzel's bakery. They had the best checkerboard cake ever. Bloomingdale's in Hackensack (before it had the mall) got their cakes there for their restaurant too. There was also Tabatchniks and, of course, Bischoffs ice cream parlor, which, I believe it still there.

Fuggeddaboudit!! There are no REAL bakeries anywhere near that area of Monmouth County - I've been looking for years. There was a place in Spring Lake, but I am positve it has closed, but please correct me if I am wrong. One small ray of hope is a bakery in Red Bank on Broad Street whose name escapes me for some reason just now - I think it starts with a Z - Zuni or something like that. It is in the area around the hardware store, Prown's, same side of the street. Nice bread, good pastries and cookies, but very limited selection.

Pat, you're thinking of Zebu Cafe on Broad St. I wouldn't call it great, but it's better than anything else I've tried in Monmouth County. They seem to more of a bread bakery. I've tried the big cookies, which are nothing special. They sell several types of pre-made salads and foccacia for lunch -- they look good and fresh. Nice friendly place.

I like Zebu's rye bread. It's not a classic rye. It's lighter-weight and baked in a loaf pan. It has a good flavor and lots of carrawy seeds. You can also buy Zebu breads at Dearborn Farms in Holmdel.

I, too, lament the complete lack of good bakeries in the Monmouth County. Zebus seems to be as good as it gets. There are too many bad Italian bakeries around here. But I will keep searching...

For better than good classic Italian pastries there are two bakers under the name Calandra's in Northern NJ. The one I go to is in ummm Fairfield I believe which is Passaic county. Some of their stuff is really really good - good Sfogliatelle, conole, cakes, they make their own French ice cream and fresh bread every hour. They're open 366 days a year until 9 each night I think.